Existing comment:
United States Naval Hospital:
Balboa Park continued to be a prominent area of activity and history for the city of San Diego. It has been the site for two world style expositions and the city's cultural center including: museums, stage performances, restaurants, and recreational activity areas. However, in the early part of the twentieth century, Balboa Park entertained a sustained military presence. Due to the abundance of land incorporated in the Park, totaling some 1,400 acres, the open space and remaining exposition buildings providing the necessary elements for military use.
The first use of the Park by the military began in December 1914. With the coming 1915 Panama-California Exposition, the 4th Marine Regiment commanded by Colonel Joseph H. Pendleton received orders to move from the Marine camp on North Island to the Exposition grounds. In the Park, the Marines were to establish a model camp and stage daily demonstrations for the Exposition visitors. Shortly after the Marine camp was established, a Marine Corps field hospital manned by US Navy Medical Department personnel followed from North Island as part of an additional expanded military presence at the Exposition.
During World War I, the Navy expanded the field hospital in the Park by establishing a war dispensary with tents to serve as wards. By the end of World War I, the war dispensary had a bed capacity of over 800. On 20 May 1919, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels changed the name of the war dispensary to Naval Hospital. |